After nearly two years on the market, Microsoft has cut the price of its Kinect motion sensing peripheral for the Xbox 360. After selling millions of units at around $150 a pop, the device is now available for the cool price of $109.99.

When the Kinect launched back in November of 2010, Microsoft was riding on the hype that it had built up about how it would be a revolution in gaming. It was to be the future of the entire console infrastructure. Instead, it launched alongside a bunch of Wii-like mini-games.

Since then, however, it has really grabbed a foothold on the market and deeply integrated itself into the Xbox 360 interface. There is also support for the gadget in many of Microsoft’s iconic hardcore franchises.

This has come mostly from the peripheral’s voice controls, and the full-body-sensing motion controls have been relegated to an afterthought. The surprisingly strong aspect of Kinect’s appeal has come with Dashboard navigation, making it seamless for users to control their entertainment experience with the swipe of an arm or speaking a phrase out loud, without getting off the couch.

Although that might be antithetical to the Kinect’s initial appeal of getting gamers to get up and move, it has helped define the purpose of Kinect – as a peripheral to augment the Xbox 360 experience, as opposed to being a new experience in and of itself.

There is no sign that Microsoft’s devotion to Kinect is slowing down. A new version of the technology is expected to be a focal part of the next Xbox. This price cut is more likely indicative of Microsoft’s desire to install many more units to the existing Xbox 360 base to further prove its worth to third-party developers.